Xiao Hei

A Tibetan Girl Called Ata

“A heartbreaking love story that lays bare the human toll of political division.” — Chris Riches, The Daily Express“Vivid and unforgettable.” —...

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Xiao Hei

Xiao Hei (pen name of Zhang Pu) is a Chinese-born British writer and translator based in London. He is the Chinese translator of Jung Chang’s internationally acclaimed Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, one of the most widely read books about modern China. A writer and journalist with a long career in publishing, he has written fiction, non-fiction, essays and political commentary, with a particular interest in China’s history, culture,...

Other Writing

It is ultimately what A Tibetan Girl Called Ata is about

Jung Chang’s Wild Swans has sold more than 13 million copies around the world, despite remaining banned in China.

Now her younger brother, Zhang Pu, writing as Xiao Hei, has published his first novel in English after settling in Britain amid fears that he could simply “vanish” if he returned to his homeland.

Here, the author of A Tibetan Girl Called Ata reflects on growing up alongside one of the world’s best-known writers, surviving the Cultural Revolution, finding the inspiration for his own...